SARASOTA, Fla. (June 24, 2015) — A founding director has been chosen for the Florida State University College of Medicine's new internal medicine residency program in Sarasota, which hopes to admit its first residents in 2017.

The program director will be Wilhelmine Wiese-Rometsch, M.D., who has experience as both a program director and assistant dean for graduate medical education at Wayne State University and Detroit Medical Center.

The new residency program will be based at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, with the FSU College of Medicine as its institutional sponsor.

“Dr. Wiese-Rometsch is a proven leader,” said John P. Fogarty, M.D., dean of the FSU medical school. “She currently serves as the corporate vice president for academic affairs and designated institutional official for the large GME programs at Detroit Medical, so clearly she has the experience and skills to help Sarasota Memorial develop its new internal medicine program. Her energy and enthusiasm for this new role were noted by all, and we are very pleased that she has accepted our offer.”

Wiese-Rometsch earned her M.D. at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo. She completed her residency training in internal medicine at East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine/Pitt County Memorial Hospital in 1995 and stayed as faculty member until 2000.

“I am delighted about the opportunity to begin a long and fruitful career at Florida State University and Sarasota Memorial,” said Wiese-Rometsch, who is scheduled to begin her new role Oct. 1.

The new residency program, announced in April, is expected to produce as many as 12-13 new internal medicine physicians a year when at full capacity. It will be the first allopathic (M.D.) residency program between St. Petersburg and Fort Myers along Florida’s southwest coast. The area needs more physicians for a population that grew by 20,000 between 2010 and 2014 and is home to more than 100,000 residents 65 and older.

“We look forward to welcoming Dr. Wiese-Rometsch and working with her and Florida State to build a flourishing residency program that will enhance care to our patients and the community,” said Steve Taylor, M.D., chief medical operations officer for Sarasota Memorial.

Now that a program director has been hired, the next step is to apply for accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). If all goes according to plan, the program could begin taking applications as early as 2016 and admit its first residents in 2017.

Medical school graduates must complete residency training in their chosen specialty to gain board certification and become an independently practicing physician. Numerous studies have shown that most physicians end up practicing near where they completed residency training.

Florida ranks 42nd nationally in its percentage of medical residents, despite being the third-most-populous state. In an effort to provide more opportunities in the state, the FSU College of Medicine has partnered with a number of hospitals to sponsor new residency programs. In the past five years, it has sponsored new programs in Tallahassee (internal medicine) and Fort Myers (family medicine). Additionally, programs in general surgery and dermatology are pending accreditation in Tallahassee, where Florida State also sponsors a fellowship for advanced training in procedural dermatology.

The new program in Sarasota will be the seventh residency program sponsored by Florida State.

The College of Medicine has regional campuses in six Florida cities, including Sarasota. Third- and fourth-year students there do clinical rotations year-round under the direct supervision of community physicians at area health centers and physician offices, including Sarasota Memorial.

To date, 910 physicians have graduated from the FSU College of Medicine, which first accepted students in 2001. Internal medicine and family medicine are the top two residency program choices for College of Medicine alumni.